2016 Update

2 Cor. 4:8-10
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 

Have you ever noticed that when things are really starting to go great, the devil does something to try and knock you back down? 

Let’s start with the good stuff….

 The presidential election process went smoothly. The man elected  was a former Minister in the government and is well liked by the people. He also professes to be a Christian. Conditions continue to be peaceful, except for a few instances in various parts of the country.
 
We completed our first ECO-DIM (Sunday school) course. Out of 24 that attended sessions, eleven are receiving Certificates of Completion and nine are receiving Certificates of Participation for the course. We are encouraged by their interest and desire to learn, and we learned a great deal that will help us in future courses. The next one will begin on March 22^nd.
 
With more stability in the country came the opportunity to travel outside of our area for a couple days. The  church association was finally able to hold a general assembly meeting. This was a meeting of church representatives from all areas of the country, except for those from the eastern part who could not travel due to insecurity on the roads they needed to travel on. We traveled on Wednesday, February 24^th so we could meet a number of the pastors and deacons from various churches and returned home the next day. On the afternoon of the 25^th, Carol sat outside in some shade and did about 100 Blood Pressure checks for people. Some had very high BP, so we are praying they went to get meds to control it. Their diet here is not conducive to good BP at all. While away, a church member and friend to Dannenberg’s and Jewell’s, was good enough to house us at his home near the church where the event was held. There were over 500 people in attendance to discuss issues in the churches and to elect new Association officials. All in all, it was a good conference. John Dannenberg and Charlie Jewell stayed for the entire 4 day event.
 
While away, we visited Jonathon’s House. Jonathon’s House is an orphanage for displaced and traumatized children. They are currently using one of the large missionary at the Station. Some of the children from there have been successfully adopted by people in the U.S., and there are some more who should be getting new American parents soon. We had a good visit with them, and the kids loved the balloons and candy we gave them!

Now for some of the bad stuff….
 
Getting water is still an ordeal for people here. In our area, people need to travel to wells/pumps that are still operational. Because of the current low water table, many have run dry. Lines at the working pumps are very long and it may take hours for people to get water for their families. Some often wait all night in order to get water for the next day. We have had a couple rains, but not nearly enough to raise the water level.
 
One of the participants in our ECO-DIM course is one who has struggled to get water. One night she left to go to the water station, locking her house behind her, and several hours later after filling her water canisters she returned to find her house had been broken into and ALL her possessions were gone. Unfortunately, this is all too common here.
 
Sometimes you are ‘legally’ robbed. As some of you know, there has been a lawsuit issue against the church association, and the plaintiffs asked for a large sum of money. At some point, vehicles of BMM personnel here were listed as possible collateral to be seized for restitution. Because these vehicles are not owned by CEBI or BMM, but rather by the missionaries themselves, and CEBI and BMM are two separate entities, it was thought it would be an easy process to prevent this. Last week, officials came to the station and finding the Dannenberg’s vehicle here, seized it and drove it away. The man responsible for getting it said they would hold it for at least two weeks to give us time to straighten all this out, but rather than keeping their word it was sold just two days later. This is a loss of between $13000-16,000 for the Dannenberg’s and to replace a vehicle such as they had could cost even more. Currently, our vehicle and the Jewell’s vehicle are in safekeeping at another location while lawyers contest this process and try to remove them from possible seizure. PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS URGENT NEED!!
 
Some other stuff….
 
Our furlough plans are moving along, and we’ve been able to schedule a number of churches. 
When we arrive in the states, a major challenge we will have is acquiring a vehicle for visiting our supporting churches and individuals, as well as family and friends. We will be covering a distance north to south from Minnesota to Florida, and east to west from Pennsylvania to Iowa. You can see we will need a dependable and comfortable vehicle that will also be able to carry our luggage and ministry items. We have checked out some possibilities, thus far with no luck, but still checking on others. Do you have a currently un-used vehicle that could fit the bill? Do you have a sound, dependable vehicle you would be willing to rent or sell for a reasonable price? Would you please pray that the Lord will provide to fill this need?

Thank You and God bless!

Les & Carol Carew

June 2016 Update:

June is a fun month for us as we celebrate both our anniversary and Asher's birthday. We are so thankful to the Lord for bringing us together and blessing us with our precious son.

At the beginning of the month, Denny had the opportunity to preach at both campuses' of our sending church, as our Pastor and his family were away on vacation. Denny shared from Philippians 2, helping us to understand what Paul meant to work out our own salvation and encouraged us in how believers can know the fullness of Christ. This was great chance for him to minister to our church body.

As I continue to meet with Becca each Monday, I see God moving in her heart and life and I can see the affect it is having on her family as well. She reminds of how the Woman at the Well responded to the message Jesus gave her, she went and shared it with her family & friends. Being able to see first hand how the Gospel is changing the life of not only one woman but the affect it is having on her whole family is amazing. Our God is faithful and He is still redeeming people. I look forward to being able share The Story of Hope with the people God will have us work with in Uganda, as I know that it is by hearing the Word of God that people will believe and their lives will be changed.

We are also continuing to work on support raising. Although, we have made some contact with a few churches this month, we have not be able to set up any times to go present at any of them. We ask that you will pray with us that the Lord will open the doors for us and that we will begin to have a good response. We are seeking the Lord to bring about 10 churches to become financial partners.

We appreciate your prayer and support!
In Christ,
Denny & Cassie Nuwagaba

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father"
- Colossians 3:17

June 2016

Dear friends,

     It’s time to send another monthly report. As you know, we are in PERU for an extended trip of four months, both to serve and to take a concentrated Spanish language study course. We are already in our third month. Wow, the time is flying by!

PROGRESS IN OUR LANGUAGE STUDY:  We have finished nine weeks in language study, and have only six weeks left! Our language study will effectively be finished when I leave Urubamba July 15 to accompany a group of Bible college students for 8-9 days on their semester-end Christian service tour to serve various churches out in the country. We will then spend the last week on vacation with two of my brothers and their wives as they visit from the US.

      We are slowly making progress. We have finished what is usually taught in Spanish 1 (first year) and are now in Spanish 2. And our teacher says she’s adding a few things from more advanced studies, so we will have the basics.

      We are able to communicate better, although imperfectly, with people around us. Listening and interacting in church and classes are an essential part of our learning.

ANOTHER SURPRISE IN MINISTRY: In last month’s PEP TALK we spoke about some surprises in ministry here, as some of the local missionaries were out of the country for short furloughs and others were incapacitated by serious illnesses or injuries. The result was that we had to step in to bear some unexpected burdens in the work.

      Immediately after we sent that letter, it was determined that the missionary who had been bitten by the spider and developed cellulitis required immediate surgery. The wisest thing for him to do was leave for the US where he could receive the surgery and special care he needed. He left within two days, and by the time he left with his wife, I had inherited his three-week module course on “Revelation.” That was a Saturday, and I was to start the course on Monday!

      Thankfully, the missionary had prepared well for the class (with notes already translated into Spanish) and I could work directly from his notes. I am very grateful as well for the capable help of Lydia Whitelam, our Spanish language teacher, who had translated for that missionary’s Revelation class previously so was already familiar with the course. To allow me to concentrate on the massive task of being prepared to teach each day, Lydia laid out the lesson plans, handled the homework assignments for the students, and graded all the quizzes and tests (in addition to translating for me). Without her help, teaching the course as a last-minute substitute would have been nearly impossible!

      By the way, Sallie also accepted additional responsibilities due to the sudden departure of that missionary and his wife. His wife was responsible to handle most of the meal preparation for a short-term teacher arriving that weekend and the three teens who accompanied him. Sallie agreed to oversee their lunches every day, while other missionaries took turns providing their suppers. That meant extra trips to the market and extra time on campus during the two weeks the short-termers were with us.

      The “Revelation” class is now behind us. I was happy to serve, but it meant that I was not able to spend those three weeks preparing for my own next class on the schedule. I finished “Revelation” last week, and immediately started my class on “Christian Ministries” this week.

A HUGE CHALLENGE:   If you were waiting to pray until we faced our greatest challenge of this trip, now is the time! I have just started the last three-week module course I am scheduled to teach in the Bible college.  We have known for a long time that our language teacher/translator would expect me to stand in front of this class and teach in Spanish as much as possible. She would be seated in the classroom, but she would step in only to bail me out when necessary. I have had to come into this class with a different mindset!

      I’m bumbling along, managing to communicate in a limited way. But the emotional stress of this is tremendous – I can’t find a way to help you understand the immensity of this challenge. Please pray for me – and for Sallie too, as she is trying to use her limited Spanish more and more in conversation.

Thank you so much for praying and giving so we can be here in the center of God’s will.

Larry and Sallie